On the edge of the island, a ship slowly docked. A figure leaped from the ship's railing, landing steadily with only a slight bend of their legs.
After he landed, another figure slowly descended the stairs. It was a tall woman wearing a hat, a jacket, and jeans, with two handguns holstered at her waist.
"Mr. 4, Miss Christmas, please come this way."
Someone was already waiting on the shore. Upon seeing the man and woman, they hurried to greet them.
"Lead the way," Mr. 4 said. Nodding, he followed the escort deeper into the island.
They passed through a dense forest, and the scenery suddenly opened up to reveal a row of buildings. The two followed their attendant into one of the buildings and entered the backyard.
In the center of the backyard, a Giant Beast lay crouched, looking ferocious and terrifying.
He remembered the battle with the Giant Beast at Whiskey Peak eight months ago. Just a shake of its head had sent him flying sideways, his arm rendered useless. It had taken a long time of recovery for his arm injury to heal.
Mr. 4 was Steel Fist Heckle, who, after being personally assessed by Robin eight months ago, had been knocked flying by Xia Qiu's headbutt. After several missions, he had now become Mr. 4.
Heckle shifted his gaze from the Giant Beast to the side.
A woman stood there, with long blue hair, a tall figure, and somewhat indifferent eyes. It was Miss Doublefinger.
His former partner as Mr. 1, and now the new Vice President. He wondered why she had summoned him.
"Miss Doublefinger."
Heckle immediately bowed slightly.
Zala smiled and said, "Hello, Mr. 4. I've called you here because I need you to do something."
"Please, give me your orders," Heckle replied immediately.
Zala said, "We're cooperating with the Alabasta Kingdom to build a casino in the Rain Country. I plan for you and your partner, Christmas, to go and manage it."
"Me?"
Heckle looked surprised and said with some distress, "But I don't know how to manage a business."
"Don't worry about the management; professional staff will accompany you," Zala said, looking at Heckle. "I only need you and Christmas to protect our interests and eliminate any troublemakers. I will promote you both to Mr. 3, and Miss Christmas's title will remain unchanged as Mr. 3's partner."
Heckle nodded. "I understand."
"I will carry out the mission well," Christmas said quickly, her expression somewhat excited.
"However, your strength is insufficient."
Zala continued, "To protect our interests under the Kingdom Army and the Princess, your strength is too lacking."
Heckle looked at Zala. "Then..."
"But Mr. 0 hasn't forgotten you."
Zala smiled. "Step aside." She picked up a strangely patterned fruit and looked at Heckle. "Eat this."
"What is this?"
Heckle's expression was surprised. "Is this a Devil Fruit?"
Zala nodded. "This is the most suitable fruit for you. Mr. 0 specifically found it for you. Eat it."
"Okay."
Heckle immediately picked up the fruit, brought it to his lips, took a bite, chewed, and swallowed.
He was about to take a second bite, but Zala said, "One bite is enough. Feel it carefully."
"Yes."
Heckle immediately put the fruit aside and waited attentively. Then, his eyes slowly lit up.
Heckle bent his legs and leaped upwards powerfully.
Whoosh.
He shot up ten meters into the air, still having energy to spare, gliding through the sky instead of falling directly.
Boom.
After gliding for a distance, his body suddenly plummeted, hitting the ground heavily. Stones flew, the ground caved in, and a large hole appeared.
"What immense power."
Seeing this, Christmas's expression was one of surprise.
Zala said, "This is the Kilogram Fruit. It allows your body weight to change, from ten kilograms to ten thousand kilograms. It should be quite suitable for you, shouldn't it?"
"Extremely suitable," Heckle said, clenching his fists. "This fruit can increase my strength several times over."
Christmas, however, frowned and asked, "I remember there was a newly recruited Intermediate Agent with this ability, right? She could also freely change her body weight."
Zala shrugged. "Because she was too foolish, Mr. 0 felt it would be a waste to give the fruit to her, so he took away her Devil Fruit ability."
"Took away her Devil Fruit ability?"
Heckle's expression shifted in surprise, a sense of shock filling his mind. Devil Fruits could actually be taken away.
Zala glanced at Heckle and said, "So you need to complete your mission properly."
"I will complete the mission properly," Heckle said immediately. In his heart, he felt even more respect for Mr. 0. He had given him a Devil Fruit, a tremendous kindness. And the fact that he could also take them away filled Heckle with fear.
Zala stepped aside, looking at Heckle, and said, "Then let's test your strength."
Not far away, Xia Qiu slowly straightened up, looking at Heckle, his mouth opening to reveal fangs.
"I am no longer who I was before."
Heckle glanced at the Giant Beast, then looked at Zala and asked, "Do you really want me to attack him? I'm afraid I'll kill him..."
Zala smiled and said, "Then try it."
"Okay."
Hearing this, Heckle suddenly pushed off the ground with his feet and leaped upwards.
The moment he jumped, his body weight dropped to ten kilograms, and he shot straight into the sky, flying a full fifteen meters.
Seeing this, Xia Qiu slowly retreated. After backing up a distance, he suddenly charged forward.
"Come on."
Seeing Xia Qiu charge, Heckle's body became ten thousand kilograms heavy, and he plummeted downwards.
In the instant of his descent, he raised his right arm, his muscles bulging. As he neared Xia Qiu, he threw a punch with his right arm.
Xia Qiu also charged forward, raising his ramming horn to collide with Heckle.
*BOOM.*
Fist and ramming horn met. Their bodies abruptly stopped. The tremendous sound made hearts momentarily seize, and then a wave of air rushed forward.
Ten tons of weight, gravity from above, combined with his already immense strength—his power had more than doubled compared to before.
Xia Qiu's ramming horn's scales slowly caved in, his muscles compressed to their limit, and cracks began to appear on the scales.
But the damage abruptly stopped.
The next moment, Heckle's arm could no longer bear the load, making creaking sounds.
"Not good."
Heckle quickly adjusted his body weight, rapidly decreasing it.
*WHOOSH.*
He was sent flying backward, crashing into the building behind him, smashing through the wall, hitting the roof, and then soaring into the air.
Only then did he slowly descend, landing on the ground. With a leap, he jumped back into the house, his arm hanging down, already turning purplish.
"So powerful."
Looking at the Giant Beast before him, Heckle was inwardly horrified. Despite his increased strength, he was still no match. If he hadn't changed his weight in time, his arm would have been ruined.
Heckle opened his mouth and said with annoyance, "I... I'm no match for him."
"You've done well enough."
Zala didn't say much more. She looked at Heckle and said, "You've just mastered your Devil Fruit. Train hard and don't let Mr. 0's hopes for you go unfulfilled."
Heckle quickly replied, "I will definitely train seriously."
"Very good."
Zala looked at Miss Christmas, who had an expectant expression.
Zala walked to the side, took out a box, and handed it to her. "This is for you."
"Thank you."
Christmas took the box and opened it expectantly. Inside was a silver long spear.
Zala said, "We couldn't find a suitable Devil Fruit ability, so Mr. 0 bought this firearm. It cost four million Belly, and its power and accuracy are very high. It also comes with specialized tungsten bullets."
"It's beautiful."
Christmas stroked the firearm, a satisfied look on her face. She quickly said, "Thank you, President and Vice President."
Zala nodded, then said, "When you arrive in Alabasta, remember, we are cooperating. Try to avoid conflicts with people sent by the Alabasta Kingdom. However, if a conflict arises, don't let us lose face. You'll have to gauge the situation yourselves."
"Yes."
Heckle and Christmas quickly responded.
Zala clapped her hands. The person who had greeted them earlier appeared at the door. Zala said, "Go. Follow my people to Alabasta. We already have people waiting for you there."
"Please, both of you."
Heckle and Christmas immediately followed the attendant.
After they had all left, Zala immediately turned to the Giant Beast and asked respectfully, "How are you feeling?"
"Acceptable."
Xia Qiu felt the power from Heckle just now, which was similar to the Commodore he encountered outside Alabasta. That Commodore had damaged his own scales and muscles, nearly reaching the bone.
However, after consuming the Commodore and the Captain, his defense had increased again. Coupled with the fact that Heckle's fists lacked sharp meteorite fragments, his scales possessed extremely high toughness. His strength was absorbed by his muscles and body, resulting in only a slight crack appearing on his scales.
Of course, although Heckle's strength was comparable to that Commodore's, the Commodore didn't have as much preparation time. The speed at which he concentrated his power was similar to the speed at which Heckle bulged his muscles.
If Heckle were to throw a punch directly, the power would also be immense, but it wouldn't reach the level of that last strike.
Furthermore, the Commodore knew Geppo and Soru, possessing very high speed and mobility.
If he knew other Six Powers, his strength would increase further.
Therefore, his strength was still temporarily inferior to that Commodore's. If the two were to fight, with the opponent's speed, he wouldn't be able to withstand many techniques.
However, Heckle had only just obtained a Devil Fruit, and its ability had not yet been properly developed.
In terms of Devil Fruit abilities, perhaps in the future, Heckle could change his weight to a greater extent, not just from ten kilograms to ten thousand kilograms.
Next is speed. The Kilogram Fruit's ability is to lighten the body's weight, but the body's structure remains unchanged. When Valentine became lighter, he could fly with just an umbrella.
Heckle himself possessed great strength. Lightening his weight and reducing gravity could increase his speed.
He himself had extremely rich combat experience. After obtaining the Devil Fruit ability, if he trained for a period, becoming a lesser Commodore would be no problem.
If he could continue to break through himself, and his Devil Fruit could also break through, his future would be limitless.
Moreover, his personality was tenacious. According to intelligence, he trained daily to improve himself and fulfill his duties diligently.
He respected the strong and wished to become stronger.
Such a person was what he needed.
Therefore, Xia Qiu prepared dozens of fruits, killed the original Kilogram Fruit user who had just joined Baroque Works, and transferred the Devil Fruit.
The original Valentine was too weak, his strength insufficient, only able to fly up, become heavy, and attack enemies by falling.
It was better to give it to a more valuable candidate, and Heckle was a qualified candidate.
Heckle's partner, Miss Christmas, also had decent strength.
Her marksmanship was very accurate, and her shooting speed was very fast, much stronger than the two gunmen he had consumed before.
Xia Qiu couldn't find a suitable fruit for her, so he could only have people buy guns and bullets to enhance her combat power through equipment.
But it wasn't enough. At least she didn't match the strength of Mr. 3's partner.
However, if she could show her value and be worth cultivating, then he would consider helping her enhance her strength.
This way, his subordinates would basically be solidified with strong individuals.
Mr. 2 Bon Clay, Zala, and Heckle, these three were considered the strongest subordinates. For now, their strength was already acceptable, enough to handle many matters.
But it wasn't enough. He still needed a strong individual to deliver the final blow.
The positions of Mr. 1 and his partner were still vacant. Mr. 1 was reserved for someone strong enough.
But Xia Qiu couldn't find anyone to fill the gap. The others in Baroque Works didn't even reach the strength of Mr. 2 Bon Clay and the other two.
Cultivating them was too difficult, so what about recruiting people?
He knew there were a few strong individuals ahead in Alabasta, but they didn't reach Mr. 2 Bon Clay's level, and they wouldn't join Baroque Works at all.
Behind Alabasta, there were many powerful individuals, but they wouldn't join him.
Moreover, if he directly sought out stronger individuals, he might not be able to completely control them. Mr. 2 Bon Clay, Zala, and Heckle were already the limit of his control.
It seemed he could only search slowly and see if anyone was worth cultivating.
"Although Mr. 3 obtained the fruit, I don't think he can defeat Vivi."
Zala sighed and said, "Vivi's strength, besides you, sir, no one in the entire Baroque Works can contend with her."
I can't either!
Xia Qiu felt displeased. If not on the water, he couldn't defeat her.
But he couldn't kill her either. She was the key to cooperation, held a noble status, and was currently in charge of managing the casino.
The casino's value was immense, even greater than the treasure collected by bounty hunters on Whiskey Peak hunting pirates. Especially after the Alabasta Kingdom intervened, Xia Qiu hoped the new casino would be larger in scale than the one Crocodile previously operated, serving as the main source of funds for Baroque Works in the future.
With the cooperation in place, the two sides wouldn't clash for the time being, so he could only ignore it.
However, didn't Vivi join Baroque Works before?
Could he find a way...
Even if she couldn't join, he had to involve her in his plan.
This chapter is four thousand words.
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